Henry j



HENRY J. Recetas, or' PoULTNn-nn'nnnoufrq Letters, Patent- No'. 77,407, dated prz'l 28, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT 1N Montre-Macerata "dit Santissima tu in that ittica ttac uit making aat nf the sine.,

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN;

Be it known that I, HENRY J. RUGGLES, of Poultney, in the county of Rutland, and State of Vermont, hav invented an Improved Mowing-Machine; 'and -I do hereby declarethat the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification- Figure 1 being a top view of the machine.

Figure 2, a side elevation thereof,

Figure 3, a view'of the underside of a portion ofthe tongue or pole of the machine, with the draught-hook and chains connected therewith.

Figure 4, a view .of the under side of a. portion of the nger-bar and inge'rs.

Like letter'sdesignate corresponding parts in all of the figures. t

The main frame E of the machine is suspended, near its centre, on the axle D, and revolves, or rises and falls, freely upon .or around itf- Back vof the axle, in this main frame, are arranged the usual bevelled wheel and pinions, B e and b I7, driven by the cog-'wheels a a,`on the drivingqvheels A-A.- The crank e, on the-drivingshaft C, drives the pitman d, for giving motion to the cutter-bar I.

On the downwardly-projecting 'corner Q of the main frame, opposite to the pitman crank, is secured a strong plate, R, being bolted to the frame, so as to be adjustable in position', in order to allow the raising and lower ing of the points ofthe knife-blades or cutters, to regulaterthe cut thereof. To this plate R is hinged the shoe S. .The sliding end of the pitman d, connecting with the cutter-har I, works over this shoe, and rises and falls with it, as the said shoe swings up and down with the frame E, and hence cannot get out of line with the cuttera har. The driving-wheels A A, as they operate the gearing located on the rear end of theswinging frame E, produce an upward pressure on the said end of the frame, and consequently throw additional pressure upon the shoe D.

On both sides of the main frame E, near the front end thereof, are arranged, at diiferent points, rings or eyes, ttt, from which extend upward, inward, and forward, two chains, s s, to a sliding hook, L, under the tongue H.' This'sliding hook movesin a guide or guides, m, and the extent of its movement is limited by a slot, p, therein, (or its equivalent,) embracing a. pin in the guide. To this sliding hook the doubletree of the team is'attached, and by this connection of the draught with the main frame E, which sustains the shoe S and cutter-bar I, the pressure of the same upon the ground, when the machine is at work,` is graduated and controlled, the liftingor raising thereof being proportional to the resistance or weight of the grass in cutting; and, what is of great importance, the side-draught is adjusted and properly balanced by adjusting the two chains s s to the proper rings or eyes t t, on the sides of the frame, so as to draw more or less on one. side thanl on4 the other. The black and red lines in fig. 3 indicate diiferent positions of the draught L and chains s s', according to the resistance of the machine under different circumstances. All the resistance of the machine is thrown upon the traces of the team, and lboth light and heavy grass are managed with equalease and certainty.

The finger-har O is corrugated near the baci; edge, as indicated by the shade lilies in iig. 1. This extends nearly the entire length of the bar, leaving only a few inches of the length, at each end, plain, for fastening the heel and toe shoes. 'lhis corrngation increases the stiifn'ess and strength of the nger-bar,without increas ing thematerial and weight thereof. i

The hnivesor blades u tt are secured to the under side of the cutter-bar I, as indicated, and thereby move with less friction and resistance.'

The ingers w w areV locked together on theu'nder side ofv the iin'ger-har, as seen clearly in g. 4. They are made with cutting-edges, bevelled backs, and are so shaped, in relation to the cutting-blades, that the shearing angle, between the cutting-edges cf the fingers and blades, shall be the saine at all points of contact, thus securing great ease and uniformity, as well as 'efficiency of cutting-action. l

The journal-boxes ofthe whole machine are made solid, or each in a single piece, as represented, so that i there are neither caps nor bolts to get loose, thereby ohviating loose joints.

There is a. suspending-hook, T, pivoted to the tongue H, or its hounds G, for suspending the main frame E, to hold the working parts up from the ground, While transporting the machine, or when it is not in action.

The cutter-bar is raised by hand, at any time, bymenns of n. lever, f, groovd eccentric g, seeined to the lever, and a lifting-chain,j, sbstnntially as represented.

The whole machine, lconstructed and operating as above described, is simple, every part ot it is-eonstnntly in sight of the driver, is Iii-m and durable, and the usual'defeets of mowing-machines are in it avoided.

W'hnt I claim ns my invention, and desire to seeure by Letters Patent, is

The combination and ari'nngement of the swinging frame E, adjusting-rings't t t,- o their equivalents, on the sides of the frame, the draught-chnins .s s and sliding draught-hook L, substantially as and for the purposes herein specified.

I also claim the suspending-hook T, arranged and operating snbstantially as herein specified.

The above specification of my improved mowing-machine signed` by nie, this 21st d ny'of March, 1867.

HENRY J. RUGGLES.

Witnesses HENRYV RUGGLns, E. CLARK. 

